GEORGE TOWN – Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Mansor Othman confirmed that he tested positive for Covid-19 following a routine swab test last Friday.
He is the first MP to go public after a report broke out that several MPs were among 35 officials attached to the Dewan Rakyat whose results returned positive ahead of the special sitting starting tomorrow.
Mansor said to The Vibes that he is clueless on how he contracted Covid-19, as he has been observing the various standard operating procedures (SOPs).
The Nibong Tebal MP is now self-quarantined at home and under observation by the public healthcare authorities, which also means that it will not be possible for him to attend Parliament.
“Yes, this is the first time I have contracted it. I don’t know where I got it. Almost all (my) office meetings were (conducted) online. Constituency work strictly followed SOPs,” he said.
He also said that he has completed his double dose of the vaccine and is asymptomatic for now.
Besides Mansor, another high-profile parliamentarian said to have contracted the virus is Umno president and Bagan Datuk MP Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Zahid is reportedly in category one of the disease and is asymptomatic.
Deputy speaker and Batu Pahat MP Datuk Seri Mohd Rashid Hasnon is said to have tested negative but may be listed as a close contact to a positive case, which means he may have to undergo the customary seven to 21 days of self-isolation.
Both Mansor and Rashid have formerly served as Penang deputy chief ministers during different times.
According to Bernama, Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa and Bachok MP Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz have also tested negative for Covid-19.
Meanwhile, Penang Medical Practitioners’ Society president Dr Parmjit Singh said that people must heed the incubation period of the virus, adding that even if one is a close contact, whether one tests positive or negative is dependent on the incubation days.
The Health Ministry usually determines it as between five and 13 days for an effective reading, he said, adding that it is best to undergo two swab tests for accurate results.
Dr Parmjit also said that claims that the virus can pass through common ventilation systems at air-conditioned premises in commercial buildings can be overcome if building maintenance departments conduct daily sanitisation of the passageways.
Parmjit also urged close contacts of any public official to get themselves tested. – The Vibes, July 25, 2021
